THE NEWSROOM CHARACTERS TOTALLY AT EASE

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THE GLORIOUS CORNER

Story By: G. H. HARDING
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Emily Mortimer




RED TEAM III --- I finally got a moment watch last week’s edition of HBO’s The Newsroom, titled Red Team III, when the long gestating story the team had been working on (Genoa) was broadcast; and, then all hell broke loose as they discovered one producer had cooked the books.

It was the best episode so far this second season. The cast, including Jeff Daniels, Sam Waterston and Emily Mortimer, have all grown totally at ease defining their characters. The first season may have been a tad too much for everyone to fully digest. This season the course has been much smoother ... and, much more rewarding.


This Aaron Sorkin show is as much as a mindful*k as all of his shows have been starting with Sports Night (1998) and continuing with The West Wing, The American President, and The Social Network. Sure, his scripts read and play out like Shakespeare, but if you're a fan, you can't get enough. The one thing that I really admired in this particular show was the way Mortimer’s character discovered how the tapes had been tampered with. The insider being interviewed was just in range of a football game and the play clock was in partial view; and, the numbers suddenly jumped out of sequence. It was the type of thing that everyone saw, but no one noticed. What made it even more delicious was the fact that Daniels’ character had just explained to her what a clock like that did. Terrifically written. 


Jane Fonda, as Leona Lansing (the owner of the network) gave a four-to-five minute performance that was the highlight of the show for sure. An Emmy nod is richly deserved.


Man, she’s was awesomely good! HBO hasn't yet renewed the show for a third season which is odd … I hope it come back. Devilishly good TV.


NEW MACCA --- We're absolutely in love with the new track from Paul McCartney, “New.” With echoes of “Penny Lane” and “My Brave Face,” the song is a last-minute delight from the summer of 2013. My only question is to producer Mark Ronson, who famously put together the Amy Winehouse album Back To Black: Having made his reputation with fashion-forward production and creativity, does he knew he’s basically crafted a song that The Beatles could have done? At first, I wondered if he even knew it; and, now, I'm betting that’s what he intended to do from the start. 


This song and “Get Lucky” are for me, the songs of the summer.


FROST R.I.P. --- Sir David Frost, the veteran broadcaster and writer, died of a suspected heart attack while traveling aboard the Queen Elizabeth where he was delivering a speech on Saturday night, according to the BBC. He was 74. 


For me, Frost represented what a writer and an interviewer could do. He ran the gamut of interviews subjects from Richard Nixon to Elton John … and, was a total professional in every outing. He conducted a series of televised sit-downs with Nixon in 1977, and they became the basis of a 2006 play by Peter Morgan, which was then adapted as Ron Howard’s 2008 film, Frost/Nixon. 


Michael Sheen played Frost and the film was nominated for five Oscars. 


In the early 1960’s, Frost hosted the satirical program That Was The Week That Was on the BBC and also featured on an American version for NBC from 1964-1965. In 1968, he helped launch London Weekend Television, which is now part of ITV. 


His other on-air TV credits included The Frost Report, The David Frost Show,Through The Keyhole, Breakfast With Frost , and, more recently, Frost Over The World for Al Jazeera. A tremendous loss.


CLOSING NOTES: I was at the gym this morning when Jose Cuervo’s new commercial aired – featuring Keifer Sutherland. It begins like a little outtake from his 24 show, with him packing a bag with guns and the phrase get ready for an adventure under it. I love Keifer … but, is he the best person for this ad promoting a tequila? I mean, there’s a video of him (positively inebriated) on YouTube ducking it out with a Xmas tree? Just saying! … Next Sunday, September 8, 10-year old Nicholas Lampaisi, performs his final show in Disney’s Newsies. They'll be a small-fete at Robert Earl’s Buca di Beppo prior to the show and though his future plans have not yet been announced; we hear he’s headed to Hollywood for film work. For the show biz veteran (he also had a stint in the play Billy Elliot) we wish only the best for him in his future … The Teen Idols 3 tour goes on in earnest, with David Cassidy, Micky Dolenz and Peter Noone. I can only imagine what’s in the rider for Cassidy’s dressing room ... Maverick-writer Marc Elliot's new book on Jack Nicholson (Nicholson via Crown) comes out next month ... Remember Rebecca Holden from Knight Rider? I hear there's a new song in the works from her ... and, producer Joel Diamond. Stay tuned ...Have you caught Regis Philbin on Fox's new Sports 1 cable-outlet (Crowd Goes Wild)? It's good to have the Reege back on ... even though I miss him on interview-duty. Face it: there's not to many others out there who have a encyclopedic knowledge of TV like the 82-year old master showman. Michael Davies, who worked with Reege for 1999's classic show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, is working on this project as well. With four partners, instead of just one, it's a little less Reege. But, so far, so good ...



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